Sweating through myriad hassles

I'm into my last few days before I head north for a race in Michigan and some exploring of Lakes Michigan and Superior.

On Tuesday I went down to the river and paddled for 60 minutes.  The weather was calm and the river was free of barge traffic.  I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, then paddled mostly steady the rest of the time.

After lunch Tuesday I was greeted with bad news from the company I've hired to install a new HVAC unit at my house: contrary to what they had led me to believe, they will not be able to perform the job before I depart on my trip.  I protested that I need to have the problem fixed before I leave town, that I have pets who must be kept in a livable environment, and so on.  They responded that they could loan me several window units to keep the place cool until I return.  I wasn't wild about that idea--I've never much cared for window units because they're inefficient and they're noisy and they can cause water damage if they're not installed properly--but that was apparently the best they could do, so I acquiesced.

I doubt anybody will ever mistake me for a sharp businessman or an expert in management, but I do know the importance of a company having all its personnel on the same page when it comes to communicating with its customers.  In this case, I had technicians at my house telling me one thing and the lady in the office telling me the opposite thing.  As a result I've had to deal with more hassles as I try to get out of town, while for them it's just another day at the office.

And this is the part of home ownership that never fails to drive me certifiably insane.  Long-time readers of this blog have probably deducted that a stable home is one of the main pillars of the life I live.  I cherish having my own space, enjoying the company of my pets, surrounded by pictures on the walls and other mementos I've lovingly curated.  Sure, I could rent rather than own, but when you rent you have no control over crucial things: the landlord could, for instance, up and decide to sell the property, forcing you to move on short notice.  So I prefer to own.  And look--I'm very fortunate to have that option.  I promise you, that's not lost on me.  But there are times--like right now, when I'm trying to get away on vacation--when I wish I could shed my home and all my other material possessions and give myself over to the ways of the nomad.  I guess that's the inspiration for the "van life" concept that's so trendy these days.

But, anyway... the window units are now in place, and they seem to be doing the job, and I guess I can live with this state of affairs until I get back home.  Meanwhile, I'm grateful that my few days with no air conditioning coincided with with mild weather outside.  Now the heat is rising: the latest forecast says that most days in the foreseeable future will have high temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  But so far the humidity still isn’t bad, and that’s a godsend.

It was right pleasant when I got down to the river this morning: sunny, mid 80s, and a light breeze that seemed westerly.  I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then did another set of four bridge-to-bridge sprints starting every 8th minute.

The conventional wisdom for most sports is that the body takes around ten days to adapt to the stress of a hard workout.  That means that less than ten days before race day is too late for your body to realize the full benefit of a workout by race day.  And so if you're preparing for a big competition that you want to be in peak form for, you should do your last really intense workout about ten days out, and then rest and recover after that.  I don't know how "big" my race in Michigan is, but it's the only one on my schedule for a good while.  Today is actually nine days before race day, but hopefully my body will be mostly adapted on the 22nd of June.

The workout went pretty well.  I didn't have a headwind like I did last Sunday, so my times were a little faster.  The times were 2:10, 2:10, 2:08, and 2:10--still not as fast as I was able to go in my full glory of six years ago, but at least it was a good consistent effort, and that's really the most important thing.  My technique seemed to come together in the third piece better than in the other three, and that's why that piece was a bit faster.

I've got some packing to do, along with a few more loose ends to tie up.  I hope the stuff I've done in the boat will enable me to have a good showing a week from Saturday, even if I don't conquer the world.

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